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This new chapter in my life began with the longest day of my life. I woke up at 7:00 am, finished packing, and left for the airport. I said my goodbyes and went through security. I made it into the last available seat on the flight to Dallas. I know this because I overheard an AA worker tell the girl on the standby list whose name was right after mine that she'd have to wait.

I flew to Dallas from 10:35 to 11:35, and as soon as I got to Dallas, I began praying that I'd make it onto my flight to Madrid. If I didn't make it on this one, I'd have to wait 24 hours for the next flight and arrive to Madrid in the middle of a general strike. Bob, Raliegh's dad who is giving me the hook-up on flying standby, called when I got to Dallas to inform me that the chances of getting on it didn't look very good. The flight was overbooked by 2 revenue passengers and there were a couple people ahead of me on the standby list. He kept saying, "It's not pretty." So, after eating and napping for several hours, I heard one of the AA workers at the gate call my name. She gave me a ticket, and suddenly my concerns melted away.

Right after that, I saw a guy waving at me. I pointed to myself with a quizzical look to make sure that it was me he wanted, and he nodded. I walked over and met two of the people who were in my program. We hung out with each other for the rest of the trip and gradually met more of us. There were at least seven of us on the flight in the program, but no one else was going to the Basque Country. The flight was delayed by about an hour because they had to change planes, but I was just glad to be getting on the flight.

We finally boarded, and I sat down next to a quiet man, who I soon learned did not know English. So, of course I struck up a Spanish conversation with him. His name was Joaquín and he was a professional dancer returning home to Cádiz from Santa Barbara. I managed to find his website a few minutes ago: http://www.joaquingrilo.com/

The flight lasted for what felt like forever, and I couldn't sleep no matter how hard I tried. Joaquín got really upset because the sound on the flight wasn't working, so I let him watch a movie on my laptop. Eventually, day came along with Madrid and new adventures.

After getting my baggage, I found the bus that goes to the bus station. On this bus I met a family of Chinese tourists who spoke English but no Spanish. After I bought my bus ticket without a problem, I got to play translator for them. Then I found a payphone to tell Tony when I'd arrive in Bilbao.

As I waited for my bus (less than an hour), I started talking to three spunky Australian girls. They watched by bags while I bought a "pintxo" and a water. It felt good to be able to do so much with my Spanish.The bus trip to Bilbao was awful. The man next to me had horrible BO that I smelled for 5 hours. And, I still couldn't sleep. The countryside was pretty, though. Not flat like OK, and I think they were harvesting sunflowers.

When I finally arrived at the Bilbao bus station, I saw Tony after waiting a couple of minutes. He led me to his car where I met his daughter and learned to do the double cheek kiss when saying hello or goodbye to women. I'd get more practice with this later. We dropped Anne off at the conservatorio for her piano lessons and then Tony took me to a nice hostel where he'd already booked me three nights. Meanwhile, in the car, he gave me a phone that he had already bought and charged. I wouldn't have to go through that hassle and could already start making and receiving calls. He left me at the hostel to shower and settle, and then he returned. We picked Anne up and then went to their house for dinner. We finally dined at around 10:00, which is a fairly normal time for dinner here.

Tony had already found me a room, but it was not yet available because the girl who lived there before me hadn't moved out. So, I ended up staying only 2 nights in the hostel, and on Friday I moved into the hostel.

But, back to the dinner. It went well. It was good to meet the family, and they didn't expect the gifts that I brought for them. We ate pumpkin soup and squid and the other things that you can see the pictures. Around the dinner table, I was reminded how little Spanish I know, as I kept asking them to repeat themselves. For some reason, I can understand Tony pretty well, but not so much his wife María Luz and kids Aitor and Anne.

After dinner, Tony dropped me off at the hostel, and I slept for 11 hours. Thus, I missed breakfast in the hostel, but I only had to wait a couple hours until lunch. Tony had me come over for lunch and dinner all week for authentic Basque foods as I transition. 

There were several people in my program who were staying in the hostel, and I got to meet them. Most of them were freaking out about finding a place to live, and I felt extremely fortunate that I could think about other things.

I walked over to Tony's house using handy maps that they had in the hostel. I walked the wrong way at first but this allowed me to see a pretty part of town that I later took pictures of.

To get to Tony's after I figured out where I was, I walked along the beautiful river that was filled with visible fish. I was soaking in the newness. It was kind of like the riverwalk in Tulsa, except that it was in Spain, and therefore a lot cooler. As I was walking through the city I noticed some similarities to Buenos Aires, like their weird hair styles, man purses, and listening to English music, but there's a different aura here in Bilbao. The people seem more relaxed and less desperate to make it financially. The city is cleaner, more organized, and more artistic. Unfortunately for you, I'm not in a big rush to take a lot of photos since I'll be here so long. I've been focusing more on getting settled and learning how to live here.

Kata Cox, whom I had met on Facebook, joined the Ochoas and me for dinner on Wednesday night. At the hostel that night I couldn't sleep a wink, even though there was no one else in the room.

The next morning, I had to wake up extra early to go the the comisario (police station) to get an appointment to get my Foreigner Identification Card. Luckily, the delay that Spain is known for didn't affect me much. I was fortunate to be with other auxiliares (people in my program) who were in my shoes. Somehow trying to figure it all out is made so much easier when others are with you. We were in a long line waiting for 2 hours or so to get in the building, but it didn't seem so bad, especially not after I got my coffee, which was just as strong and marvelous as Argentine coffee.

After that, I went to Tony's for lunch, and after eating, I moved into my new place, met the landlady, signed the contract, had a tour of the flat, and unpacked. I'm kind of off by myself in a corner of the flat; it's really cozy and has everything I need.

After I unpacked, I decided to take a stroll around my neighborhood and the city. At first I was soaking it in, but then I gradually began to realize how different and new everything was. Simple things like when to push and pull doors is a new challenge. Using elevators and intercoms, communicating with doormen, knowing where to buy what. There's no Wal-mart here. I went into a supermarket and didn't recognize anything. They don't refridgerate milk and keep it in liter-size boxes. There was no fruit. For that I had to go to a fruit store. And there was a whole wall full of different brands of white asparagus!

Eventually, I got tired of walking around aimlessly, and I decided to see if I could go to the Ochoas' early. Tony was still at the conservatorio, so I called the landline, and Aitor answered. I had a hard time understanding him. I got to the building and entered the number to ring them. The door opened for me. I went by memory to the elevator, but I was trying to follow directions that Tony had given me. I could have sworn they lived on the seventh floor, but it was only the third, so I knocked on the door that I thought was theirs, and some lady just shouted at me without opening the door. I went down to leave the building and I couldn't get out. I don't know if all I had to do was push and I was pulling or what, but at the time it was frustrating. I went back up the elevator to try it again, but was met with the same lady, so I decided to give up and just walk back to my flat. Somehow the door opened on my second try.

I'm glad I went home because I got to meet two of my flatmates, Sergio and Itxiar, who were very nice and helpful but still spoke extremely fast. Since then, I haven't really seen anyone who I live with. Apparently they pretty much keep to themselves. When I returned to the Ochoas' for dinner, I learned that my disappearance had caused quite a stir, and I felt really bad about it. They couldn't believe that I had gotten lost after having been there 4 times already!

Friday morning, I went back to the comisario with all my stuff they requested, and I didn't have to wait long at all. By the time I left I had my Foreigner Identification Number (just as useful as a card), and with it I opened a bank account. Soon after that I met Javier Elias at the school where I'm working, and she showed me around and introduced me to the other teachers. They were fascinated to hear that I was from Oklahoma, and they wanted to hear more about the Wild West. One teacher asked, "Are there ranches there?" and "Does everyone carry a gun?" The English professors seemed to enjoy practicing their English with a native speaker, too. I found out that the Australian auxiliar at my school last year was 60 years old, and he didn't speak Spanish and wasn't very involved. The teachers seemed relieved upon meeting me. I also learned that I'm only working 3 days a week, Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 to 12:30, which is what I hoped for and will give me lots of free time. Afterward, I went to the bank again, to get a seal to return to my school so I can get paid. While there, I decided to play with the ATM machine. They have ATM machines there both to withdraw and to deposit cash. An old Spanish lady in front of me was trying to use the one to deposit money, but she couldn't figure it out. After she gave up and got in line to talk to a human, I fiddled around with it while she watched, and finally figured it out. I felt pretty accomplished. I looked back at the old lady, and she gave me a congratulatory look.

After lunch at Tony's I went home and took a siesta because I was pretty tired. They're only supposed to be 30 minutes or so, but that wasn't enough for me. Eventually I got up and started getting ready to go out to dinner with the other auxiliares, but when I tried to leave my flat, I had been locked in! I lifted the latch and turned the key, but no matter what i did, the door wouldn't open! I called the landlady, and she called her husband who was downstairs where they live. He came up with his key to show me how to unlock it. In doing so, he came in the apartment, shut the door behind him, lifted the latch and turned the key, but the door wouldn't open for him either. So, I was locked in my flat with a middle-aged Basque man for 30 minutes while we waited on his wife to get there. In the meantime, he complained about everything under the sun, telling me that 100% of Spaniards are complete idiots, including his wife, who was taking too long. It was also their prime minister Zapatero's fault some how. I just thought that it was really funny.

Me being late didn't do any harm to my dinner plans. I went to Plaza Nueva and had pintxos and wine with the other auxiliaries until 2am. It was nice to meet them.

Thus Saturday, I slept really late, and soon after waking went to Tony's for lunch, followed by their Saturday bible study, followed by a meal. It was fun getting to meet the people there. There was Mexican girl and a Peruvian guy there which surprised me, but which is pretty representative of all of the immigration that Bilbao has had over the last decade.

Even though I slept late, I got tired early and went to sleep and woke up fairly late on Sunday. This morning I tried to do some shopping only to find that most things are closed on Sunday other than restaurants. I did, however buy 4 nectarines for only €0.63 at the fruit store. Now I'm off to get some coffee, walk around, and go to church at 6:00pm. 

Looks like my intentions of short blogging aren't too successful, but once there are less things to tell, maybe I'll get better at it.


This last photo is on the way to church: